(Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Badminton Association)

Taipei, Nov. 16 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton player Lu Chia-hung (呂家弘) beat India's Siril Verma in three sets Monday to become the country's first to win gold in men's singles at the World Junior Championships.

Competing in the YONEX Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Junior Badminton Championships in Lima, Peru Nov. 4-15, the 18-year-old rebounded from a game down to snatch the honors 17-21, 21-10, 21-7.

Having vowed to be the World Junior Champion in his final year at that level, the sixth-seeded Lu said he started slow in the finals with fatigued muscles and nervousness following many intense games at the tournament.

But the young Taiwanese said he recovered soon and committed almost no errors in the second and third sets, taking advantage of his Indian opponent's failing strength and impatience to win the match.

Lu recalled that he endured his most hard-won victory at the quarterfinals of the tournament, holding off Lin Guipu of China after a 19-21, 21-10, 21-18 struggle in 66 minutes.

Prior to Lu's gold medal, the best finish by a Taiwanese player in men's singles at the BWF World Junior Championships was recorded by Wang Tzu-wei (王子維), the runner-up in 2013.

In women's doubles, Taiwanese duo Lee Chia-hsin (李佳馨) and Chen Wan-ting (陳菀婷) defeated Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida to win the bronze medal this year.

(By Lee Ching-wei and Jeffrey Wu)
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